Those of us here at BodyShop Business work on a daily basis to bring you the information you require to stay up-to-date in the collision repair industry. Whether it’s breaking news on www.bodyshopbusiness.com or a feature article in the magazine on how to maximize profits in your shop, it’s always our intent to give you, the reader, what you want and need. That task becomes more and more challenging every year with the addition of more ways to communicate. It’s important that you know that we’re dedicated to staying current with every available media and delivering information in the format you desire.
As part of our efforts to be sure we have you covered, we conducted research on how you prefer to receive your news. Doing this kind of research allows us to be sure that we have the capability to provide what you’re looking for. I will share some of these highlights below, but rest assured, the print version of BodyShop Business is not going anywhere in the near future.
Here are some of the highlights. When it comes to technical information, 83 percent of you still like to get information from print magazines. The other 17 percent are scattered between Web sites, training seminars and other mediums. Interestingly enough, 92 percent of you want to get your industry news from print magazines, also. This is an interesting trend considering all the hoopla being made over digital news these days.
Some other interesting statistics are that 50 percent of shops have a Web site and an additional 12 percent plan to have one. This is an area that I would urge all of you to get moving on. If you don’t have a Web presence, you need to get one. If you have a Web site and it’s outdated, bring it up to date. Your customers are moving more and more of their lives onto the Web, and you need to be sure you’re there for them if they’re looking online.
More than 90 percent of you don’t use social media. This is the area that everyone is talking about today, but how to turn it into a useful business tool has yet to be figured out. My advice is to keep an eye on it and, as it matures, decide whether you want in.
BodyShop Business is part of the Babcox Media Group and thus offers you many different ways to receive information. We have a strong presence on the Web with our Web site, and all of our past articles are there for you by category free of charge 24/7. We have a straight-to-the-point weekly e-newsletter to bring you industry news every Thursday if you like to get your news via e-mail. In addition, we have a complete research department that ensures that we stay current on industry trends and changes. And, of course, we have the content-rich print magazine that faithfully shows up at your door every month like it has for the past 28 years.
The bottom line is, however you like to receive you collision repair information and news, we have it. So indulge!
